One of Those Days
by Deana
Summary: Nick Kokoris' day contains a series of tragic events, some of which may prove fatal to him...
1. Orphan Haylee

One of Those Days

A PM story

By Deana Lisi

Disclaimer: I don't own Nick *boo hoo* or any other PM character, but I do own the original characters. Special thanks to Karri for an awesome idea that happens later. (You'll see what I mean!)  Also thanks to Marie for Nick's license plate, lol, and Lady Foxfire for the title.

"What's wrong with her, doctor?"

Nick Kokoris faced the nervous mother, who was bouncing her screaming baby as she sat on the exam table. "Haylee appears to have colic, Sherry."

Sherry sighed, looking exhausted. "I don't know how long I can deal with this, it's been nearly a week!"

Nick pulled up a stool and sat in front of her, studying her pale face. "You haven't missed any doses of your medication, have you?"

Sherry hesitated. She'd had heart problems all her life, and was warned against having children. She'd had surgery, performed by Nick, and had been doing well. She eventually got married and wanted a child very badly, so was monitored carefully during her pregnancy. More problems with her heart arose, and when the day came for Haylee to be born, Nick had attended the C-section in case anything went wrong with her heart. She survived it, but her heart condition had continued to worsen. 

Nick could tell by her expression what her answer was. He sighed, and it made him cough. He'd come down with a cold but was trying to ignore it. 

"Yes…" Sherry answered, nervously. "I _have_ missed some doses. It's so easy to forget when your baby won't stop crying!"

Nick put a hand on her arm, growing alarmed at her paleness and agitation. "Take it easy, Sherry."

Sherry shook her head, tears starting to slide down her cheeks. "I wish Mark was here! Why did he have to leave me?"

Nick sighed, gently patting her arm. Sherry's husband had left her the week before, a drunk who had once been a respectable man. 

"I can't do this alone," Sherry whispered. 

Feeling sorry for the poor girl, Nick took the baby from her, so she could gather herself.

Sherry stood up to get a tissue off the nearby counter, but before she made it, she suddenly gasped and fell to her knees.

"Sherry!" Nick exclaimed, rushing over to her. 

Sherry collapsed to the floor, her eyes closed. 

Nick had no choice but to lay the baby on the floor, and he whipped out his stethoscope and quickly listened to Sherry's heart. His eyes widened at what he heard. "No, Sherry, don't do this!" he exclaimed, jumping to his feet and dashing to the door. 

"I need a crash cart in here STAT!" he shouted. Rushing back to Sherry, he knelt on the floor and began CPR.

Matt Slingerland burst into the room, having heard Nick's yell. "What happened?"

"V-Fib! Chronic heart disease!" Nick told him, after breathing air into her lungs.

Matt took over the chest compressions, as a couple of nurses brought the cart into the room. 

Nick reached for the resuscitation paddles, quickly readying them. "Clear!"

Matt moved back.

*zap*

Matt placed his stethoscope over Sherry's heart. "Still in V-Fib!"

Nick shocked her again.

Matt again listened to her heart, and shook his head. After the fourth shock, he removed his stethoscope. "Her heart has stopped, Nick. She's gone."

"No!" Nick exclaimed. 

Matt sighed, nodding. "I'm sorry, Nick."

Nick said nothing, staring at the young woman for a minute. Finally he tore his gaze away, getting to his feet and turning his back to the scene. 

Matt stood, frowning when Nick started coughing, leaning against the exam table. "Are you all right?" he asked, taking his arm.

Nick nodded, trying to get his breath back. "It's just a cold. I didn't expect to have to breathe for someone…"

Matt sighed again. "I'm truly sorry, Nick."

Nick echoed the sigh, nodding his head. Suddenly he turned around, realizing that Haylee was gone.

"One of the nurses took her," Matt told him.

Nick was relieved to hear that; glad the baby had not been in the room as her mother died. He went over to Sherry and gently picked her up, laying her on the exam table. "Thanks for your help," he said to Matt in a sad tone, before walking out the door.

Finding Haylee was easy; all he needed to do was follow the sounds of loud crying. "I'll take her," he said to the nurse who held her.

The nurse handed him the 3-week old, and Nick sighed as he stared at her, wishing that he hadn't failed in saving her mother.


	2. Cough Cough, Hack Hack! lol

As Harriet walked into the break room, she frowned at the sound of someone coughing.

"Nick?"

Nick looked up from where he was sitting.

"Are you all right?" she asked, concerned at the look on his face. 

Nick sighed. "I lost a patient."

"Aww," she said, sympathetically, sitting next to him. 

"Someone who wasn't even here for her own problem."

"Oh?"

Nick nodded. "She had heart disease and was one of my surgery cases. She came in with her baby. After I told her it had colic…" he sighed. "She went into V-Fib and died on the floor."

Harriet's eyes widened. "Oh, Nick!" she said, gently rubbing his arm. She frowned when he started to cough again. "Where'd you get _that _from?"

Nick shook his head. "I don't know."

Harriet felt Nick's forehead, her mother-mode in full force. "No fever."

Nick shook his head. "It's nothing."

Harriet's beeper suddenly went off. "Every _time_ I come in here…!" she complained, with a smile, as she stood. "Well, you know the drill, Nick; plenty of fluids."

Nick gave her a slight smile. "I know."

She smiled at him again before leaving the room. 

Resting his chin in his hand, Nick tried to figure out what to do with Haylee. Sherry had no family, and her husband was nowhere to be found. If Nick couldn't locate Sherry's husband, then the state would have to take the baby.

That was something that Nick _didn't_ want, but he realized that it would be better then going to a drunken father. 

Looking at his watch, Nick sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. He had surgery to perform in a half hour. He hoped no emergencies would come up afterwards, as he now faced the difficult task of locating Haylee's father.

********************

"You caused a lot of trouble, little one," Jules Keating said with a smile, as she rubbed the cheek of a minutes-old infant.

A sudden wail filled her ears, and Jules looked up as Nick walked into the nursery, carrying a baby. "What've you got there?" she asked.

Nick sighed, walking towards her. "This is 3-week old Haylee. Her mother just died. I need to leave her here until I can find her father."

Jules saw the depressed expression on his face. "I'm sorry."

Nick nodded, laying the baby in a nearby crib. "She's colicky, as you can hear."

Jules walked over to Haylee, starting to examine her. "Poor little thing!"

Nick nodded. "I'm not sure if I'll be able to locate her father; he's a drunk who left his wife last week."

"How sad!" Jules exclaimed. "Her father leaves and then her mother dies!"

Nick nodded again. "Her life hasn't started out very well."

Jules sighed, wiping away Haylee's tears. "I'll keep an eye on her. You do know that you'll have to notify the state if you can't find her father?"

"Yeah," Nick said. "I know. Thanks for watching her." 

"Anytime," Jules said, with a smile. After Nick left, she heard him start coughing and threw a concerned look at him as he walked past the window. 

Nick didn't see her look as he finally gave in to his spasming lungs' desire to cough. He'd held it in when he was in the nursery, not wanting to give his cold to delicate infants. 

"Nick!"

Nick stopped at the sound of Letty's voice, and waited for her to catch up. "Hi Letty. How's the patient?"

Letty sighed. "Worsening. We caught this just in time."

Nick nodded and followed her, suddenly realizing that the operation they were about to perform happened to be heart surgery. 

Letty quickly scrubbed in and entered the OR. 

As Nick scrubbed, he had a coughing fit and he grunted in annoyance, fearing that germs had gotten on his hands.

After re-scrubbing, he went into the OR, to see Letty watching him.

"I thought you fell asleep out there," she quipped.

"Ha ha," said Nick, approaching the patient. 

The surgery was a delicate but not lengthy one; inserting a pacemaker, and everything went well until Nick had another coughing fit. 

He tried to hold it back, but it wasn't working, and he finally had to put the instruments down and turn around, fearful that germs would escape through the surgical mask.

Letty frowned as she watched him, not liking the sound of it. "Nick?"

"I'm fine," he gasped, nearly pulling off his mask instinctively when it prevented the intake of air at the speed in which he needed it. It made him cough again and Letty started to approach him, concern evident on her face even behind her surgical mask. 

Nick waved her away. "I'm fine, I just need some air." With that he quickly left the OR and took off the mask, inhaling as deeply as he could without making himself cough once more. 

He quickly went back into the OR, and Letty looked at him with a frown. "You all right?"

Nick nodded. "Fine. It's just a cold." 

Letty said nothing more, though she continued to give him concerned looks.

Nick had a few more coughing fits, including just as he'd finished and started to suture. With a wave of his arm, he indicated that he wanted Letty to finish, and he left the OR. 

Sitting on a stool near the scrubbing sink, he waited for Letty to come out. "I'm so sorry about that," he told her.

Letty shook her head. "You've got a nasty cough there, Nick."

Nick nodded. "I know…it wasn't that bad earlier."

"What are your other surgeries for today?" she asked, crossing her arms. "Can another surgeon take them?"

Nick shrugged. "A pin removal from a teenager's arm, and a hip replacement."

Letty frowned. "You'll never make it through the hip replacement like that."

Nick nodded, knowing she was right. "I can do the pin, but I think I _will_ find someone else for the hip."

Letty nodded back. "Wise decision."


	3. Bad News

Hey everyone! Thanks so much for your reviews! I just wanted to tell you all something really cool about ff.net...you know how you get the 'overload' and 'chapter doesn't exist' messages sometimes? Well, My buddy Karri told me that if you put a slash at the end of the url, the page WILL come up. For instance, last night I uploaded chapter 2 and it didn't appear, so after clicking on my story and typing, &chapter=2 it said 'chapter doesn't exist'. When I put a / after the 2 in the url, the chapter showed. Cool trick, huh? :) 

Nick succeeded in finding another surgeon, and he took the free time to try to find Haylee's father. He tried everything; including calling the police to find out if they'd had a run-in with him and knew of an address. He found nothing, and so made the reluctant call to the DCFS, who said that they'd send someone immediately.

Nick went back to the nursery, grateful to hear soft gurgles rather then a screaming Haylee. He found a nurse feeding her and took over the job, as he awaited the social worker. 

Nick suddenly had to cough, and he realized with relief that his surgical mask was still around his neck. He placed Haylee back in her crib and pulled his mask up, leaving it there. 

The door soon opened, and a woman dressed in a black pantsuit walked in. Looking around, she spotted Nick immediately.

"Are you Dr. Kokoris?" she asked.

Nick nodded and stood, holding out his hand. "Yes, pleased to meet you," he said, pulling his mask down.

He literally saw shock register on her face when she saw him without the mask, and he laughed inwardly at her failure to maintain control of her expression. 

"Ah, yes, well…" she said, obviously flustered at his good looks. "Ahem," she cleared her throat. "I'm Serena Marfeo, from DCFS."

Nick nodded. "This is Haylee," he said, pulling the mask up again. He saw Serena frown, wondering why he did that.

"I have a cold," he explained. "I don't want the babies to catch it."

"Ah," she said, and then her face split into a wide smile as Nick held up the baby. "Ohh! How sweet!" she exclaimed.

Nick nodded, holding Haylee close. "Were you informed as to the details?"

Serena nodded, sadly. "Yes." She held out her arms, eager to hold her.

Nick gave the baby one last squeeze before handing her over. "She's colicky."

"Aww!" Serena said. "Poor thing!"

Nick stroked Haylee's cheek with his finger. "Find her a good home, huh?"

Serena smiled at him. "We will, Doctor. I promise you that."

"Thanks."

Serena nodded, and then stuck her hand into her pocket. "Um," she said, sounding nervous. "Here's my card, if you ever, uh, need anything further from DCFS?"

Nick took it, smiling behind his mask at the blush forming on her cheeks. "All right."

Serena gave him another smile before turning and leaving the nursery, cooing softly to Haylee.

Nick was sad to see the baby go, but he tried to force the thought out of his mind; he had a patient's pin to remove. 

********************

The next day, Rae Brennan ran down a hallway, urgently summoned by a page, but suddenly skidded to a stop at the unexpected sight of Nick leaning against the wall, coughing badly.

"Nick!" she exclaimed. "Are you all right?"

Nick nodded his head; frustrated that everyone seemed to be asking him that question. "It's just a cough."

"It sounds really bad," said Rae, inching away slowly. "I've been paged, I can't stay…"

Nick nodded, waving his hand as if to say, 'go'.

"Take something for it!" Rae exclaimed, as she ran off.

Suddenly Nick's arm was grabbed, and he was steered into the hall. 

"You look exhausted." It was Harriet.

"I was awake half the night," Nick told her as they walked, stifling a yawn, knowing it would make him cough. 

"_Why_ are you working today?" she asked.

"Because this is my job," Nick answered.

Harriet *tsked* "You'll make everyone's jobs harder if you spread that cough through the hospital."

Nick knew she was right. When he'd gotten up that morning he'd wanted nothing better then to go back to bed, but he didn't want to overload other surgeons with his patients. 

"Can you reschedule some of your surgeries?" Harriet asked.

Nick thought for a minute. "I _do_ have a couple of cosmetic ones…"

"Good, those aren't a priority," said Harriet. "What else?"

Before Nick had a chance to answer, a coughing fit overtook him, leaving him breathless. 

"You're going home," Harriet said, firmly. "_I'll _reassign your surgeries. Before you leave, you should have Matt take a look at you."

Nick shook his head, getting his breath back as Harriet took his arm again and pulled him along. 

"Harriet…" said Nick, stopping. "I appreciate your concern, really. I'll do what you said and go home, but I don't need a checkup. It's just a cough, it won't kill me."

Harriet nodded. "Good. Don't come in tomorrow either." She folded her arms. "Think about it. If you had a patient with a cough like that, what would your advice be?"

Nick gave her a half-smile, realizing she'd trapped him. "Stay in bed and drink warm tea."

Harriet nodded. "Exactly." She patted him on the back, as they started walking again. 

********************

"Hey Matt."

Matt stopped as he passed the receptionist desk, giving a charming, flirtatious smile to the girl who'd called out to him. "Yes, Karri? What can I do for you?"

Karri smiled back, but then pointed behind Matt. "That homeless guy is back."

Matt turned around, to see the down-on-his-luck man that Nick had found and brought in the previous week. The man had left before seeing a doctor.

"Humm," said Matt, walking closer to him. "Sir? Do you need help?"

The man nodded, and Matt had to look closely to see beyond the dirt and grim on his skin. "Can't…breathe…well," he said, starting to cough.

Matt pulled a mask out of his pocket, already suspecting what was wrong with him. Quickly covering his mouth and nose, he took the man's arm, leading him to a treatment room. 

********************

"Yes, Mrs. Drews, since your surgery is cosmetic, it can be postponed. Dr. Kokoris really isn't capable of performing it today…" Harriet listened to the woman, who wasn't happy about rescheduling, but saw that she had no choice. "Thank you. Bye."

Harriet looked up as Matt approached, giving him a warm smile.

"Karri," Matt said to the receptionist, taking off his surgical mask. "Do you know if anyone else had contact with that man?"

"The homeless one?"

Matt nodded.

Karri sighed. "I don't think so, but I can't say for sure."

Matt sighed.

"What homeless man?" Harriet asked. "What does he have?"

"Remember the one Nick brought in last week? The one who left before a doctor could have a look at him?"

Harriet nodded.

"He just came back. He has tuberculosis."

Matt didn't expect Harriet's face to register a look of horror. "OH NO!" she exclaimed.

"What?" said Matt, watching as she picked up the phone and quickly dialed a number. 

"I sent Nick home twenty minutes ago," said Harriet. "He has a horrible cough!"

Matt saw what she was getting at. "Oh dear."


	4. Should've Used the Drivethrough!

Unfortunately, Nick didn't answer his phone at home because he wasn't there. He'd stopped at the bank, and was still standing in line. He tried to control his coughing fits, embarrassed at the looks he was getting, but it was getting harder to control with each passing minute. 

He finally had his turn and headed towards the door, eager to get home and go to bed. But before he reached it, he suddenly heard a gunshot from behind him and he jumped, turning at the sound of panicked screams. 

"THIS IS A HOLDUP!" a voice yelled. "EVERYONE ON THE FLOOR!"

Nick realized that he could reach the door in three steps; he would be a valuable tool to the cops, having seen the criminal's face. But before he made it, another gunshot sounded and the bullet flew past him, exploding through the glass door.

"YOU!" the man yelled. "GET OVER HERE!"

In a state of shock at the situation, Nick complied, walking closer and laying on the floor with the rest of the bank's occupants.

The thief started to laugh. A loud, maniacal laugh that chilled Nick straight to the bone. 

********************

At the news that Nick was possibly infected with tuberculosis, much of the hospital was in a panic, not only wondering if he was all right, but afraid that they had contracted it from being in contact with him. 

"He's not answering his cell phone either!" said Harriet.

"Did you page him?" Rae asked, nervously.

Harriet nodded. "Not answering two phones, not calling back on a page…this is _not_ good!"

"Maybe he's asleep," said Jackie, who'd assembled at the receptionist desk with everyone else. "Maybe he shut off his phones."

That statement made everyone feel better.

"You have a point there," said Letty. 

"Uh oh," said Karri, hanging up the phone on her desk.

"What?" everyone demanded.

"That was the state police. They said there's a hostage situation at a nearby bank, and the thief is armed, already having fired shots. They told us to be prepared for possible victims."

Everyone looked at each other, all thinking the same thing.

"You don't think…?" Jackie said.

"Which bank?" Letty asked. 

"The Bank of California," Karri told her.

"That's Nick's bank!" Rae exclaimed. 

"That doesn't necessarily mean he's _in_ it," said Matt.

No one said anything, not ready to accept or deny the possibility.

********************

The terrified hostages cried and gasped in fear as the thief continued to shoot; using an M-16 he'd either stolen or paid a bundle for. 

Nick was as scared as everyone else, covering his head with his arms as the bullets continued to hit the ceiling, and chunks constantly fell on everyone's heads. Lying on his stomach was making it difficult to breathe, thanks to his cold, and he kept coughing. 

"Good morning, everyone!" the thief yelled. "My name's Mikey and I'll be your bank robber today!" He laughed. "Scared, are ya? Aww, and I'm having such a fun time!" Finally he stopped shooting and walked over to one of the tellers, grabbing her hair and pulling her head up.

The poor young girl trembled, tears slipping down her face.

"Aww, I made you cry," Mike said. "How mean of me! Fill up this bag till it's overflowing, or I'll give you a _real_ reason to cry!" he said, yanking her up and shoving a duffle bag into her hand.

The girl stumbled off, towards the vault. 

Mike looked around at the terrified people, frowning when he heard Nick's coughs. "Hey buddy."

Nick didn't realize he was speaking to him, as he tried to stop coughing. 

"HEY BUDDY!" the thief yelled this time, walking closer to him.

Nick looked up, trying to take a deep breath without coughing again. 

"Got a cold?" Mike asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

Nick nodded, again starting to cough.

"Better _you_ then _me_!" Mike said with a laugh. He strode over to the bank door and locked it. 

As he walked back, the girl came out with the duffle bag, dropping it on the floor and going back to the group of hostages.

Mike opened it and smiled when he saw the huge amount of cash. "Yeah, baby. _This_ is what I want!"

Suddenly a loud voice echoed around the building. "THIS IS THE POLICE! COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP!"

"Come out with your hands up!" the thief mocked. "Yeah, whatever."


	5. Best title for this chapter: OH NO!

Rae and Jules had no patients for the time being, and left the hospital to find Nick. Jules was only slightly surprised when Rae drove down the street leading to the bank.

Rae knew Jules' thoughts. "We can see if Nick's car is in the parking lot. Then we'll know if he's in there or not."

"You think the cops will _let_ us?"

Rae sighed, glancing at her. "They will if we tell them there could be a TB patient in there, infecting the whole bank."

Jules shook her head, with a sigh.

A few blocks later, a police officer walked into the road, holding his hand out for Rae to stop. 

They both jumped out of the car, running over to him.

"You can't come this way!" the cop exclaimed. "There's an armed robbery in progress!"

Rae shook her head, stopping in front of him. "There might be a man in there with tuberculosis!"

The cop gave her a look, as if to say, 'what ELSE could possibly go wrong?' 

"Find out if his car is in the parking lot," Rae said. 

The cop nodded, taking out a tiny notepad. "What kind of car does he have?"

"A new black BMW," Rae told him. "The plate is DR NICK."

Jules laughed. "Are you serious?"

Rae nodded, with a slight smile.

The cop spoke into his radio, notifying officers at the scene. A voice came over telling him they would check. 

"Can we wait to find out?" Jules asked.

The officer nodded and walked off, preventing another car from journeying down that road.

********************

"What?!"

"A man with TB," the patrolman told the San Francisco Police Chief. "He's apparently a doctor, himself."

The Chief sighed. "Do the search, quick."

The officer nodded, grabbing a few others as he ran off. 

The Chief held back from yelling through his bullhorn until he found out whether or not the TB threat was real, and he got his answer within seconds.

"Black BMW; license plate DR NICK, _is_ confirmed as being in the parking lot. Repeat, Black BMW, plate DR NICK, _is_ confirmed as being in the parking lot…"

The chief picked up his radio. "Notify the officer with the two doctors. Tell him to get them over here."

"10-4."

********************

"You're right."

Rae and Jules shot horror-filled looks at the officer who was running back towards them. "Nick's in the bank?!"

The officer nodded. "His car was found in the parking lot."

Rae made a sound of distress, lifting a hand to her mouth. 

"The Chief wants to see you both." He sighed, pointing. "Follow this road, the other officers will let you through."

Rae nodded, and her and Jules both ran back to the car. Driving down the street, Rae tried to remain calm as she followed the instructions of the officers they passed, finally arriving where the police were assembled across the street from the bank.

Two officers met them and quickly brought them to the Chief.

"What are we dealing with?" the Chief asked, without introducing himself.

"Nick Kokoris is a doctor with us at Presidio," said Rae. "He developed a horrible cough, and we found out only today that he was recently exposed to TB."

The Chief sighed. "How contagious is it?"

"It doesn't affect everyone who is exposed," said Jules. "That's why it's not common. Some people are more susceptible then others. We don't know how many people are in that bank or what the status of everyone's health is. If there are any elderly people, infants, or people with chronic health problems…" 

The Chief nodded. "All right." He suddenly turned around. "Did anyone get the bank's phone number? Maybe we can use this."

Jules and Rae wondered what he meant as an officer ran over to him with a piece of paper. 

Taking out his cell phone, the Chief dialed the number that was written on the paper. It rang six times before the thief answered the bank's phone.

"Listen," the Chief said. "Give yourself up now before it's too late."

"Too late for what?" the thief snarled, sticking a finger into his other ear to try to block out the sound of Nick's coughing. 

"There's a sick man in there," said the Chief.

"Yeah, I know," Mike answered. "He's coughin' like crazy! It's annoying the crap outta me!"

The Chief could hear Nick's coughing over the cell phone, and grimaced. "You don't understand, punk! That man has tuberculosis! If you don't give yourself up, you'll catch it!"

Mike paled and nearly dropped the phone. "Tub—tuberculosis? You're lying, just to get me to give up!"

"No I'm not," the Chief said. "I have two doctors standing right here with me who are friends of his. Look out the window."

Mike put the phone down and ran to the window, looking through the miniblinds. After a second he ran back, picking up the phone. "Okay, fine! I'll give myself up! Just get me _outta_ here!"

The Chief smiled. "Great. I'll call you right back."

"What?!" Mike exclaimed, but the cop hung up. 

The hostages had all sat up by now, and Nick was leaning against a counter, constantly coughing, suddenly unable to take in enough air. 

"STOP IT!" the thief yelled. "I can't believe you'd come in here and spread that around!"

Nick frowned. "Spread what?" he gasped out.

"Tuberculosis!"

_What?! _Nick thought, as people around him gasped. At first, he thought it a ploy by the police, and decided to go along with it, but then he began to assess himself. _Bad cough…chest pain…trouble breathing…_Those symptoms _did_ match tuberculosis, but they could also be from a number of different viruses, including influenza, which was currently going around the state. Feeling his own forehead, he saw that he was feverish, but that could be from influenza too. _But then again, even people with severe influenza are usually capable of breathing…_

People started moving away from him, fear of the disease making them more frantic then they already were. 

Nick had to cough again and tried to hold it in, but it was impossible. He covered his mouth with his hand, but he knew the damage had already been done; he'd exposed the whole bank.

"Stop it!" Mike yelled. "You're gonna kill us _all_!" With that, he pulled a previously unseen handgun out of his waistband.

The hostages screamed when they saw what Mike intended to do. 

Mike raised the gun—equipped with a silencer—and pointed it at Nick, quickly squeezing off a shot.


	6. Patience is a Virtue! lol

"Okay," said the Chief. "The thief's given up, but do we have to involve the Health Department in this?" 

Rae and Jules looked at each other. "I don't think so."

The Chief shrugged. "I better call them first, to make sure." He sighed. "I feel bad for that doc in there," he said, dialing the bank again.

Rae looked at him. 

"I could hear him coughing," the Chief told her.

Rae sighed, looking towards the bank again.

The phone only rang once before the thief answered it. "When do we get outta here!"

"We're working on it," said the Chief. "Before we do that, I want you to throw your weapons out the window."

The thief didn't want to do that, but he'd quickly turned from 'tough guy' to 'whining wimp'. Reluctantly, he put the phone down and walked over to the bank windows, opening one of them. Looking out, he saw that he had no way to escape, as there were officers guarding the doors to the bank in an effort to keep the exposed people inside. 

Mike slid his M-16 out the window, but kept his handgun. Going back to the phone, he picked it up again. "I tossed it."

"We got it," said the police chief. 

"Will you let us out now?" Mike asked, nervously.

"After we get word from the health department on how to proceed."

The line went dead, and Mike slammed down the phone. "I don't _believe_ this!" he yelled. "I come in here for some easy money, and end up catching tuberculosis!"

Nick looked up, from where he sat trying to tie a handkerchief around his arm from a graze caused by Mike's bullet. It wasn't too bad, but he probably would need a few stitches. He suddenly started coughing again, dropping the handkerchief. _How did I contract TB? _he thought. _I haven't been in contact with anyone who has it! _As he picked up the handkerchief again, he suddenly remembered the homeless man he'd found lying in a dazed heap on his sidewalk the previous week. He'd had a cough. 

Nick closed his eyes, shaking his head. _Everyone in this bank has been exposed! Everyone in Presidio…my friends, patients…Sherry! Did she catch the TB germ from me, and it attacked her bad heart? Is that why she died? _The thought was unbearable. _I exposed her baby…all the babies in the nursery! The social worker…_He suddenly felt someone take the handkerchief out of his hand and he opened his eyes to see an elderly women sitting beside him, starting to tie the handkerchief around his arm.

"No!" Nick said. "You have to stay away from me! Your age puts you at an increased risk of—"

"Shush," the woman said. "I got me a good set of lungs for my age. Ask my grandkids, they hear me shout enough." She chuckled. "Besides, I was exposed to TB years ago, and didn't catch it." 

Nick didn't tell her that would increase her chances of catching it _now_. He started coughing again and stuck his face inside his coat, not wanting the woman to inhale the germs. _As if it wasn't already too late._

The woman finished tying the handkerchief, and saw something fall out of Nick's coat pocket. Picking it up, she saw that it was an ID tag. "You're a doctor?" she said.

Nick nodded, gasping after his latest coughing fit. 

"You caught this from a patient?" the woman said. "How _horrible_!"

The other hostages, upon hearing that Nick was a doctor, started asking questions. 

"Is it likely we'll catch it?"

"What happens if we do?"

"Is it fatal?"

"Is there a cure?"

Their answer was another coughing fit from Nick. It made him dizzy and he slumped to the floor, lying on his side. He felt the old woman pat his arm, in comfort. 

********************

Rae was pacing, a nervous wreck. Beside her, Jules was talking to Jackie on her cell phone, letting their friends at work know what was going on. 

The chief saw their agitation and called the bank, wanting to find out what was happening inside. 

"Well?!" said the thief, after picking it up.

"The head of the Health Department should be calling me back any minute," the Chief told them. "What's going on in there?"

The thief looked to the group of scared hostages, and Nick, who was lying on the floor and not coughing at the moment. He suddenly had an idea. "Look, cop, you gotta get us outta here _now_…see…I shot him."

The Chief stood up straight, having been leaning on his cruiser's hood. "You shot who?!"

Rae and Jules turned around, looking at him in horror.

"The sick guy. I wanted him to stop spreading the germs…" The thief talked quickly, not wanting Nick to start coughing while he was still on the phone. "You gotta get us outta here now or he'll DIE!" With that, he slammed the phone down.

Nick had been starting to doze, and when he heard the noise of the phone slam he jumped awake, immediately coughing again. 

The Chief hung up his phone, turning his back away from the women.

"What?!" Rae exclaimed. 

"He shot your friend…to try to make him stop coughing."

"NO!" Rae screamed.

"How bad?" Jules asked, in shock.

"Bad, apparently, but I don't know where he's hit." The Chief dialed the bank again, but Mike purposely didn't answer.

"We have to get Nick _out_ of there!" Rae exclaimed, tears sliding down her cheeks. 

"We have to make sure it's safe first!" the Chief told her. 

With a shake of her head, Rae suddenly ran, full tilt, towards the bank.

Jules gasped. "RAE!" 


	7. Confrontation

At the sound of Rae's name, Nick jerked out of another half-doze. He wasn't surprised at all to know that she was out there; Nick knew she still loved him, even though they'd ended their affair. But he was shocked to see her come running into the bank with no regard to her own safety.

Mike pointed his gun at her, but she didn't even notice, running towards Nick.

"Nick!" she cried, throwing herself to her knees and grabbing his arms. 

Nick winced when she touched his wound, and she quickly untied the handkerchief. "It's nothing…" he tried to say, but his sentence was cut off by a coughing fit. 

Rae saw that the wound really wasn't too bad, and she pulled a stethoscope out of her pocket and listened to his lungs. 

Nick submitted to her examination, but it was impossible for him to take deep enough breaths to let her hear what was going on. Taking even _half_ of a deep breath induced a coughing fit. 

Rae eventually gave up trying to hear, and removed the stethoscope. She remembered that the chief had told her Nick's gunshot wound was 'bad', so she started searching Nick for another.

"Rae…" Nick gasped.

"Where are you shot?!" she exclaimed, not seeing anymore blood.

"My arm," he told her. "Just a graze."

"But the police said—" she stopped when Nick started to cough again, knowing he wouldn't hear her anyway. 

Rae suddenly jerked when she felt something stick into her back.

"Don't move, lady," said the thief. "If you get me outta here right now, I won't kill your friend."

Rae's answer was cut off by the sound of the phone ringing. Slowly backing up, still pointing the gun, Mike answered it.

"What's going on in there?" the chief asked. "Is the doctor safe?"

"Oh, sure," said Mike. "She's fine, looking after the sick guy."

"The health department just notified me that everyone can leave the bank," said the Chief. "It's not a quarantine situation, so we'll be coming in."

Mike was relieved at that, but then he realized that his next stop would be jail. 

"Great," Mike said, and hung up. Glancing at Nick, who was coughing again, Mike quickly ran over to them, watching for the police.

When he heard them approach the door, he suddenly grabbed Nick, wrapping his arm around his neck and pointing the handgun against his head.

"Nick!" Rae shouted. 

The door burst open as police and medics ran in, and at the sight before them, the police drew their weapons.

"Let him go!" the Chief yelled.

Mike shook his head. "Uh uh," he said. "I ain't going to jail!" He looked behind himself to make sure there was no one in his way as he started backing up, pulling Nick with him.

Nick's vision was turning gray at the edges; he hadn't been getting adequate oxygen intake already, and the thief was effectively strangling him. 

"Nick!"

Her voice sounded like it came from far away, but Nick was drawn to it and slightly regained some awareness. He opened his eyes to see Rae and Jules both standing there, and the officers pointing their guns. His lungs burned with the need to cough, and he stumbled when Mike backed up further.

"NICK!" Rae screamed, when he suddenly dropped from the thief's arms and landed hard on the floor.

The thief was taken by surprise, and didn't get a chance to recover before the bank erupted in ear-splitting gunfire. 

Rae and Jules instinctively grabbed onto each other and ducked to the floor, in fear and horror. The shooting stopped almost as quickly as it had started, and they opened their eyes, both of them shaking. 

Rae leaped to her feet and dashed over to the weakly coughing Nick. 

"I'm…all right," he gasped. "A trick."

Rae frowned, before realizing what he was saying. He'd dropped to the floor on purpose, to give the police a clear shot. 

An oxygen mask was suddenly dropped into her lap and she placed it over Nick's mouth. "You're gonna be fine," she said, watching as the medics worked on him.

Nick hoped she was right. Being a surgeon rather than an MD, he didn't know much about the course of TB, and he wondered what damage had been done to his lungs. He reflexively flinched when he felt the IV placed into the back of his hand, and his horrible coughing died down when the sedative—given to him for that reason—took effect.


	8. WOO HOOOOOO! lol

The sound of someone whistling filtered into Nick's foggy mind, and he tried to open his eyes but they felt too heavy. Something suddenly touched his chest and he jumped. 

"Nick?" said Matt, removing his stethoscope. "Are you awake?"

Nick finally succeeded in opening his eyes, and he gave Matt a confused look. 

Matt smiled. "It's about time you woke up! How do you feel?" he asked, placing the stethoscope on his chest again. 

Nick didn't say anything, as he viewed his surroundings. He felt an oxygen tube under his nose and he tried to read what was written on the IV bag, but he felt groggy from the sedative and couldn't make out the words. 

"Nick?" said Matt, still listening to his lungs.

Nick was slowly gaining more awareness, and realized that Matt was waiting for an answer. Before he had the chance to say anything, he started coughing. 

Matt winced at its severity. Picking up the bed control, he hit the button to raise the head of the bed, making it easier for Nick to breathe. 

Nick's head spun when he stopped coughing and he closed his eyes, trying to get his breath back. His chest was killing him, and he wondered what damage the TB had done to his lungs. He felt a hand touch his arm and he opened his eyes to see a glass of water before his face. 

After he drank it, Matt put the empty glass on the night table. "You all right?"

Nick nodded. "Tell me," he whispered vaguely, not wanting to cough again.

Matt nodded, but then his serious look changed into a smile. "You don't have TB."

Nick blinked, thinking he'd heard wrong. "What?"

Matt chuckled. "You don't have TB, Nick."

Nick closed his eyes, in shocked relief. 

"What you _do_ have is a bad case of pneumonia," Matt told him. "We removed some fluid from your lungs."

_That's why it hurts so much, _Nick thought. After a minute, he realized something and had to stop himself from chuckling. "The thief," he said.

Matt frowned. "The bank thief?"

Nick nodded. "He gave himself up because he wanted to get away from _me_…when he finds out that I don't have TB…" It was a mistake to say so much at once, for it set him off coughing again.

Matt chuckled at his words, but then frowned at him. "Be quiet or you'll continue to cough like that!"

Nick winced at the pain, quickly obeying. 

The door suddenly opened, admitting Rae, Jules, and Jackie.

"How you feeling, Nick?" Rae asked.

"Okay, considering," he answered.

"Did Matt tell you yet?" Jules asked.

Nick nodded, with a smile.

"I'll bet _you're_ relieved!" said Jackie.

Nick nodded again, not wanting to talk much. "Did they tell the thief?"

Everyone looked at each other, seemingly puzzled.

"The thief is dead, Nick," said Rae. "Don't you remember, you pretended to pass out so police would have a clear shot, and they killed him."

_How could I have forgotten? _Nick wondered. _It must be the drugs. _Before he could say anything, he started coughing again. 

"Awww!" said Jackie, making a face. "Poor guy!"

"I think everyone should leave Nick alone so he can rest," Matt told them.

Everyone nodded. 

"Feel better soon, Nick," said Jules.

"Yeah, take it easy," said Jackie.

"Thanks," Nick said, watching as they walked out.

As expected, Rae stayed where she was. 

"Not long, Rae," Matt told her, before leaving.

Rae nodded, giving Nick a sympathetic smile, but then her expression changed.

"Rae?"

She sighed. "When we thought you had TB, and then found out that you were in the bank…"

Nick caught himself before sighing, knowing that it'd only make him cough his lungs out. 

"I thought you were gonna die," Rae whispered, wiping an eye.

Nick took her hand. He knew that Rae still loved him, even though they were no longer together. "Sorry."

Rae shook her head. "It's not your fault…I just can't believe it all."

Nick shook his head. He still found it hard to comprehend that he'd been a hostage in an armed bank robbery.

Rae patted his hand and started to say something else, but her pager suddenly went off. Making an exasperated sound, she grabbed it.

Nick watched as she read it. "Go ahead, I'm fine."

Rae looked at him and nodded, putting her beeper back in her pocket. "I'll be back."

Nick nodded. "I know."

Squeezing his hand, Rae backed up and turned around, leaving the room at a run; a patient needed her.

Nick waited before she was gone before letting himself cough again; if Rae had stayed any longer, he wouldn't've been able to hold it in. _I don't have tuberculosis…_He never thought he'd thank God that he had pneumonia, but he did just that as he drifted off to sleep. 

THE END 

Thank you everyone SO MUCH for all your fantastic reviews! I'm so glad you all enjoy my stories so much! :) You all make writing SO worth it! :)


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